WHEREAS large scale disposal of beetle killed timber by open burning may result in air quality deterioration; AND WHEREAS the extent of the beetle kill and air quality impacts reach beyond the boundaries of individual municipalities: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM lobby the provincial and federal governments to fund the purchase of air curtain burners or other technologies on a regional basis that will enable the sustainable management of beetle kill timber.
Ministry of Community Development Through the Bioenergy Strategy the Province is encouraging the development of new business operations that can convert forest waste products into electricity generation. The vast majority of current burning of waste from Mountain Pine Beetle killed trees is from the burning of slash piles from industrial pine beetle salvage and harvesting operations. The development of Bioenergy related operations is the best opportunity to convert these large volumes of waste into a useful commodity. Curtain burners would typically only be used for the relatively small volumes of waste coming from private and municipally owned lands. Some Regional Districts, like Central Okanagan, have already purchased curtain burners for use in their regional districts. There may be opportunities for Regional Districts and municipalities to cost share andor rent the use of curtain burners. Once new Bioenergy related operations are established, they may well accept waste from private and municipally owned lands. Therefore the Ministry currently has no plans to establish any programs to publicly fund the purchase of curtain burners.